A lot, in fact. Set yourself up for success by incorporating healthy aging strategies into your daily routine. No one has figured out how to stop Father Time.

But, scientists have learned which specific lifestyle habits actually can help you feel younger than the date on your birth certificate. And which don’t live up to the hype.

While some factors that influence healthy aging are beyond our control (think genetics), there are many evidence-based strategies you can use to take back the reins. Top medical longevity researchers consider the following actions to be a blueprint for preventing and managing chronic disease, living as independently as possible, and maintaining your quality of life as you age.

Move Your Body

What can exercise do for healthy aging? More like, what can’t it do?

Physical movement is the single most important thing for healthy aging.

Exercise is the closest thing we’ve found to a magic pill for combating the effects of aging

—— said Linda Fried, MD, MPH, dean of Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.¹

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), regular physical activity is proven to help prevent and manage chronic health problems, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer—issues that not only become more likely with age, but can cause disability and early death.² Plus, moving your body has brain and mental health benefits that can keep your mood lifted and your mind sharp with age.³

New research suggests that exercise can delay the aging process inside the cells. An oft-cited study of more than 5,800 adults ages 20 to 84 reveals that those with the highest physical activity levels had a nearly nine-year biological aging advantage over those who are sedentary.⁴

The study’s author, Larry Tucker, came up with those numbers by looking at the participants’ telomeres. These are the endcaps of our chromosomes, and they shorten with age. But Tucker discovered that regular exercisers have significantly longer telomeres than their less-active counterparts, suggesting that physical activity helps keep your cells young.⁵

So, it only follows that staying active can extend your lifespan.

Take one study, which included data collected from over 80,000 people.⁶ It found that participating in any form and amount of strength training was linked with a 23% reduction in death from any cause and a 31% reduction in cancer-related death.⁷ And the more people strength-trained, the more significant the reduction.⁸ The findings were published in October 2017 in the American Journal of Epidemiology.⁹

Then, there’s this study of adults aged 40 and older, which found that taking 8,000 steps or more per day was associated with a 51% lower risk of death from all causes, compared to taking only 4,000 steps.¹⁰ These results appeared in March 2020 in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association (known as JAMA).¹¹

—— What Can I Do?

Start by being physically active in short spurts; even 5 minutes of walking, yoga, or gardening a few times a day can make a difference. As you become more active, you may find it’s easier to exercise for longer periods. Eventually, you’ll be ready to branch out and try other activities, such as resistance training, group fitness classes, and swimming.

Work your way up to 150 minutes (2½ hours) of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, like brisk walking or swimming laps, and two full-body strength workouts a week. That’s the minimum amount of weekly exercise you need for overall health, per the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans.¹²

Make Smart Food Choices for Your Body and Mind

Healthy eating is a cornerstone of aging well. As we get older, we face a greater risk of chronic health problems, along with health issues related to loss of muscle and bone, such as osteoporosis. Eating the right foods can help protect you from age-related health problems and may even improve brain function.¹³

As you age, your body can have a harder time with certain functions, like maintaining your heart health, kidney function, bone regeneration, and more.

But getting proper nutrition—like enough protein and the proper amount of vitamins and other nutrients—is an important part of helping to keep those systems and others strong and functioning at their best.¹⁵

—— said Ami Hall, DO, a geriatric specialist with Cleveland Clinic.¹⁴

The famed Mediterranean-style eating pattern, which includes plenty of fresh produce, grains, beans, and healthy fats, with low to moderate amounts of dairy, fish, and poultry, may be especially beneficial for health and longevity.¹⁶

In a study published in 2021 in the Journal of the American Heart Association, researchers analyzed the eating patterns of more than 21,000 people.¹⁷ They discovered that those who closely followed a Mediterranean-style diet had a significantly lower risk of sudden death from a change in heart rhythm.¹⁸

The Mediterranean diet is also rich in foods like fish and leafy green veggies that may offer protective benefits for your brain, helping stave off cognitive decline with age.¹⁹

—— What Can I Do?

Don’t try to overhaul your diet overnight. Make healthy eating less overwhelming by starting with small changes to your food and beverage choices. For example, if you usually order a medium latte with whole milk from the coffee shop, size it down to a small and ask for fat-free milk. If you normally use white bread for sandwiches and toast, switch to whole-grain. Or, if you like snacking on chips, try low-fat popcorn instead.

Get To Sleep

Sleep. We all need it to stay healthy and alert throughout our entire lifespans. Plus, getting good sleep may lower your risk for insulin resistance (a precursor of type 2 diabetes), heart disease, and obesity.²⁰ It’s critical for your mental and emotional health too.

Conversely, if we don’t get the seven to nine hours of sleep we need—or those hours aren’t high-quality—we pay for it dearly the next day. According to the National Institute on Aging (NIA), poor sleep can make you irritable, depressed, forgetful, and more likely to fall or have an accident.²¹ Research shows that older adults who reported poor sleep struggled to problem-solve and concentrate compared to those who reported good sleep.²²

Long-term sleep issues can also spell trouble for brain health. A study of 8,000 people found that those in their 50s and 60s who scored six hours of sleep or less per night faced a higher risk of dementia (a condition that involves impaired memory, thinking, and decision-making) later in life.²³

The link between sleep deprivation and dementia is still fuzzy, but it may be that short sleep is associated with a buildup of a protein involved in Alzheimer’s disease (the most common dementia type).²⁴

—— What Can I Do?

There are several proven strategies that can help you get to sleep—and stay asleep. Most involve daily habits, including:²⁶

• Go to sleep and getting up at the same time each day
• Avoid late afternoon and evening naps
• Follow a bedtime routine that doesn’t involve watching TV or using your computer, cell phone, or tablet
• Stay away from caffeine late in the day
• Avoid large meals close to bedtime

Focus on creating these daily habits for a few weeks and see if your sleep improves. Still struggling? Then it’s time to see your doctor.

Quit Smoking

Here’s yet another reason to swear off cigarettes for good: One study found that older adults who smoked were three times more likely to die within a six-year follow-up period than those who never lit up.²⁷

Smoking affects every inch of your body. It damages your lungs and airways, increases your risk of heart attack or stroke, weakens your bones, leads to many cancer types, and makes it easier to catch a cold or the flu.²⁸

But quitting smoking will automatically boost your health and quality of life, regardless of age.

Here are a handful of the changes that come with quitting:²⁹

• Your heart rate and blood pressure drop
• Your sense of taste and smell improve
• Your heart, lungs, and blood vessels work better
• You will cough and feel out of breath less often
• Your risk of heart attack, stroke, and cancer lowers

Plus, think of all the money you’ll save by not spending it on cancer sticks!

—— What Can I Do?

Quitting smoking is tough. But the benefits are life-changing—and life-extending. The first step is to make a firm decision to quit and pick a definite stop date, per the National Institute on Aging.³⁰ It’s also a good idea to bring your doctor into the loop. If you’ve tried quitting in the past, they may recommend prescription medicines to help with symptoms of nicotine withdrawal.³¹

Manage Stress

Stress is a fact of life. Sometimes, it comes from difficult events or circumstances. Other times, it’s caused by happy occasions, like the birth of a grandchild. Stress is both normal and healthy… to a point.

Problems arise when stress is constant, and older adults may face more severe health consequences from stress than their younger counterparts. In particular, research shows that long-lasting stress can change the brain, creating memory issues and increasing dementia risk.³²

Long-term stress may also contribute to other health problems, including digestive disorders, headaches, depression and sleep disorders.³³ The stress hormone cortisol plays a role in your body’s stress response. If you consistently have high cortisol levels, due to chronic stress, then symptoms commonly may also include weight gain, fatigue, and anxiety or depression.

—— What Can I Do?

Practicing stress management techniques regularly can help keep stress from bubbling over. Meditation, physical activity, and spending time with friends and family are all great ways to manage stress.³⁴

If you can’t seem to keep stress under control, see if you can pinpoint the source(s) of your stress. Then, consider ways to remove or improve the source. For example, if you’re stressed about finances, brainstorm potential solutions. Are there local financial assistance programs that can help you pay for groceries or housing? Are there health insurance benefits that can cover prescription costs? Tackling the source of your stress often makes it better.³⁵

It’s Never Too Late To Think About Healthy Aging!

Some factors that affect how well we age are out of our control. But, thankfully, there are plenty of things we can control, including how much we move, what we eat, whether we smoke, and how we handle sleep and stress. Even small lifestyle changes can make a major difference!

We’ve got more healthy aging tips in store for you, so watch for more helpful articles on this topic in the coming weeks from our longevity experts.

¹ How Exercise Helps You Age Well. National Council on Aging (NOA). October 11, 2022.
² Physical Activity: Key Facts. World Health Organization (WHO). October 5, 2022.
³ Physical Activity: Key Facts. World Health Organization (WHO). October 5, 2022.
⁴ Tucker LA. Physical Activity and Telomere Length in U.S. Men and Women: An NHANES Investigation. Preventative Medicine. July 2017.
⁵ High Levels of Exercise Linked to Nine Years of Less Aging (At the Cellular Level). BYU University Communications. May 10, 2017.
⁶ Stamatakis E, Lee IM, Bennie J, et al. Does Strength-Promoting Exercise Confer Unique Health Benefits? A Pooled Analysis of Data on 11 Population Cohorts With All-Cause, Cancer, and Cardiovascular Mortality Endpoints. American Journal of Epidemiology. May 2018.
⁷ Stamatakis E, Lee IM, Bennie J, et al. Does Strength-Promoting Exercise Confer Unique Health Benefits? A Pooled Analysis of Data on 11 Population Cohorts With All-Cause, Cancer, and Cardiovascular Mortality Endpoints. American Journal of Epidemiology. May 2018.
⁸ Stamatakis E, Lee IM, Bennie J, et al. Does Strength-Promoting Exercise Confer Unique Health Benefits? A Pooled Analysis of Data on 11 Population Cohorts With All-Cause, Cancer, and Cardiovascular Mortality Endpoints. American Journal of Epidemiology. May 2018.
⁹ Stamatakis E, Lee IM, Bennie J, et al. Does Strength-Promoting Exercise Confer Unique Health Benefits? A Pooled Analysis of Data on 11 Population Cohorts With All-Cause, Cancer, and Cardiovascular Mortality Endpoints. American Journal of Epidemiology. May 2018.
¹⁰ Saint-Maurice PF, Troiano RP, Bassett Jr DR, et al. Association of Daily Step Count and Step Intensity With Mortality Among U.S. Adults. JAMA. March 2020.
¹¹ Saint-Maurice PF, Troiano RP, Bassett Jr DR, et al. Association of Daily Step Count and Step Intensity With Mortality Among U.S. Adults. JAMA. March 2020.
¹² Physical Activitiy Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
¹³ What Do We Know About Healthy Aging? National Institute on Aging (NIA). Last reviewed February 23, 2022.
¹⁴ Nutrition for Older Adults: Why Eating Well Matters as You Age. Cleveland Clinic. July 7, 2023.
¹⁵ Nutrition for Older Adults: Why Eating Well Matters as You Age. Cleveland Clinic. July 7, 2023.
¹⁶ What is the Mediterranean Diet? American Heart Association (AHA). Last reviewed January 9, 2020.
¹⁷ Shikany JM, Safford MM, Soroka O, et al. Mediterranean Diet Score, Dietary Patterns, and Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death in the REGARDS Study. Journal of the American Heart Association. July 2021.
¹⁸ Shikany JM, Safford MM, Soroka O, et al. Mediterranean Diet Score, Dietary Patterns, and Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death in the REGARDS Study. Journal of the American Heart Association. July 2021.
¹⁹ What Do We Know About Diet and Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease? National Institute on Aging (NIA). Last reviewed November 20, 2023.
²⁰ What Do We Know About Healthy Aging? National Institute on Aging (NIA). Last reviewed February 23, 2022.
²¹ What Do We Know About Healthy Aging? National Institute on Aging (NIA). Last reviewed February 23, 2022.
²² Nebes RD, Buysse DJ, Halligan EM, et al. Self-Reported Sleep Quality Predicts Poor Cognitive Performance in Older Adults. The Journal of Gerontology. March 2009.
²³ Sabia S, Fayosse A, Dumurgier J, et al. Association of Sleep Duration in Middle and Old Age With Incidence of Dementia. Nature Communications. April 2021.
²⁴ What Do We Know About Healthy Aging? National Institute on Aging (NIA). Last reviewed February 23, 2022.
²⁵ Patel D, Steinberg J, Patel P. Insomnia in the Elderly: A Review. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. June 2018.
²⁶ A Good Night’s Sleep. National Institute on Aging (NIA). Last reviewed November 3, 2020.
²⁷ Thun MJ, Carter BD, Fesakanich D, et al. 50-Year Trends in Smoking-Related Mortality in the United States. New England Journal of Medicine. 2013.
²⁸ Quitting Smoking for Older Adults. National Institute on Aging (NIA). Last reviewed January 17, 2019.
²⁹ Quitting Smoking for Older Adults. National Institute on Aging (NIA). Last reviewed January 17, 2019.
³⁰ Quitting Smoking for Older Adults. National Institute on Aging (NIA). Last reviewed January 17, 2019.
³¹ Quitting Smoking for Older Adults. National Institute on Aging (NIA). Last reviewed January 17, 2019.
³² McEwen BS. Neurological and Systemic Effects of Chronic Stress. Chronic Stress (Thousand Oaks). Jan-Dec 2017.
³³ What Do We Know About Healthy Aging? National Institute on Aging (NIA). Last reviewed February 23, 2022.
³⁴ What Do We Know About Healthy Aging? National Institute on Aging (NIA). Last reviewed February 23, 2022.
³⁵ Stress and How to Reduce It: A Guide for Older Adults. National Council on Aging. March 24, 2023.